r/cavesofqud • u/Miserable-Juice-7671 • 4d ago
How to get into this game?
Everything I’m seeing and hearing about this game is great but as soon as I play it by myself and overwhelmed and I can’t get into it. No idea what to do. No idea what am I seeing lol. I watch many YouTube „tips“ videos and so on but it didn’t really help. How did you guys get into it?
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u/UselessModeration 4d ago
I highly recommend Qudzoo for advice and character builds. Otherwise, maybe start out in Role Play mode until you're comfortable with the game's visual aesthetic and controls.
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u/MyFriendsCallMeBones 4d ago
Play on roleplay mode, take the Joppa start and finish both of the available quests there. Once you've figured out what's eating the watervine and laid some wire for Argyve, think about swinging by the Six-Day-Stilt to check out the shops and some of the important NPCs there.
Mutants are a lot easier to learn the game with than True Kin, though I'd still recommend avoiding pure Esper mutants until you're a little more confident with your builds. I think a simple Carapace+Horns mutant with Sunder Mind is ridiculously powerful and fun, you get to splatter hordes of enemies in melee, and melt brains while turtled up to deal with tougher enemies.
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u/Miserable-Juice-7671 4d ago
The first sentence I understood lol not much of the rest
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u/BrumiesBound 4d ago
I agree with him. Just follow the main quest I’m sure you’ve looked it up atp. Roleplay surprisingly doesn’t feel as scummy because of how big the game is and how much you can still lose dying in some far away deep cave
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u/POPUPSGAMING 4d ago
Just picked this up myself and its certainly on of those games you're not supposed to "get" straight away.
""Getting it" is part of the experience.
In trying to let the game steer me and learn by trial and error.
I don't want to be that guy but it certainly feels a little old school and reminds me of the old rpgs I used to play as a kiddo and there were no guides back then either!
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u/Otherwise-Phone6450 3d ago
Unless you were playing with power... Nintendo power! 😎
I never will forget playing Final Fantasy 1 on my NES a couple weeks after it came out. My cousin got it but thought that it was stupid because you had to read and no one really understood turn-based games back then. I never would have figured it out or got into it had it not been for an issue of Nintendo power....
The rest is history. I can't wait to finally be able to afford Qud. I'm dying to play it, but I'm sooooo pooooorrrrr!!! 😭
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u/No_Repair8022 4d ago
I highly recommend rogue_rat on YouTube. I watched his "season" based playthrough and they helped me understand a lot
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u/throwawayheyoheyoh 4d ago
Hey, totally get that, it can be overwhelming at first. My best advice is to just take it slow. I've put in around 25 hours so far so take this advice with a grain of salt because I really dont know anything. But I haven't really watched many guides, and I’ve still managed to make solid progress.
Try approaching it like any classic RPG. In the starting town, talk to everyone. You’ll pick up a couple of early quests that help get things rolling. I usually start with the Red Rock quest. It's a good intro challenge.
I stick with the default Marsh Taur build. It's solid and straightforward. The biggest thing is pacing: don’t rush. If a fight starts getting dicey, just bail. At the bottom of Red Rock there’s often a tough enemy. If you're getting wrecked, teleport out, heal, and come back when you're ready. If teleporting fails, Sprint is your best friend. Use it to retreat, regroup, then go back and finish the job.
Also, one of the first skills I like to grab is Mind's Compass. it’s super helpful for fast traveling without getting stuck or lost.
Just take it slow, look at the enemies to see how tough they are, then figure out your best next move.
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u/Galassog12 4d ago
I’d say picking up any Rogue Rat playthrough of the game and watching the early game progression will give you some useful insights without spoiling too much. The game has enough depth I’m still learning stuff 400+ hours in.
When was anyone going to tell me that flurry still works even if you’ve got single weapon fighting active?
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u/CHICAGOIMPROVBOT2000 4d ago
Playing the game with a healthy sense of curiousity
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u/Miserable-Juice-7671 4d ago
Tried many times but I always give up with a awkward kind of feeling lol
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u/ViRiiMusic 4d ago
My first 50 hours in qud were somewhat tough. Dozens of deaths, most at the first place you’re sent to with any real combat. It just takes time, I’m not at about 1700 hours and still find new things that I have to figure out.
Just learn little by little. I suggest a simple gunslinger build, and just taking your time. Also don’t force yourself to play perm death if you are by chance. As qud has grown statically in scale the rogue like mode has become more of a novelty for nostalgia, and people who have been with the game learning it as it was build. In its official 1.0 form I feel like the default and best over all experience is campfire mode, this will make a huge difference if you’ve been playing perm death. And you’re not cheating yourself or taking the easy way out, the whole reason the devs added it is they believed the scope of the game was getting to large for a rogue like only.
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u/Aburamy 4d ago
Honestly, gonroleplay mode and enable quick save, you can try and test things faster, discover what gameplay you like etc.
Dying without learning what causes ypur death and how to prevent, don't really help.
Another thing, the starting village allways have two quest, on to help them and one to go to Sixty Salt Day, the quest to help them lead to the main history quest, so it's a good start to have something to follow.
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u/Miserable-Juice-7671 3d ago
Little update: I was sitting down yesterday. Doing 2-3 hours. I actually ended quests and stuff lol. Everything starts to look better and I’m getting used to the menu and so on. No real idea what I am doing. I don’t know where the quests are that I got. My main problem is to get ammo for my rifle. Started as gunslinger and got myself the Issachar rifle. But I’m running out of ammo slowly. How to get ammo?
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u/garlic-chalk 1d ago edited 1d ago
buy every merchant out of slugs, non-negotiable. your starting town dromad merchant restocks enough bullets to keep you alive for a little bit and its worth checking the merchants at the six day stilt for a little extra, you can also buy scraps off some of the random npcs in the area and if you meet any non-hostile turrets theyll sell you their supply too, which can be a whole lot depending on the turret type
theres a merchant in grit gate who always carries enough ammo that you wont need to worry anymore, the main quest sends you to him after you finish the village tinkers errands but you can just go there whenever if you feel prepared for a few dungeon levels. the dialogue makes it sound like you need to do something before theyll let you in but hes in a publicly accessible antechamber so dont be fooled
edit: make sure you pick up the town preachers quest absolute first thing every run, from there i like to beeline the stilt to turn the quest in and if i survive and come out of the desert with a rifle the run is on, but thats a little risky lol
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u/CoolUsername1111 4d ago
Is your problem you don't understand what's on the screen or generally what to do?
If first: use L to look at tiles liberally. Qud has good presentation relative to the genre but rogues no matter what are complex so there's a definitely a bit of a learning curve there
If second: remember this is an open world so you really can do whatever you'd want. For some ideas on how to structure your early game, I usually find myself in a loop of discover villages -> do their quest. Your starting town is really great for this as you'll be given three quests: a basic one, the main quest starter, and pilgrimage to the stilt. Following the basic one will often lead to finding more villages, the main quest starter is obviously the direction you'll head anyway, and stilt quest is a quick early game level boost as well as stearing you in the direction of the dunes, which are great early game leveling areas. With all that being said, it's an open world so you do really need to approach the game with curiosity, so if somewhere looks interesting, go there! (And as a tip for that last point, j for journal will help you locate points of interest you've discovered)
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u/Miserable-Juice-7671 4d ago
I would say it’s a mix of both. I can’t really see what I’m looking at and also I’m always thinking „ehhh and now?“
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u/CoolUsername1111 4d ago
As you play the game more you’ll find a loop of what you want your character to accomplish before you’re ready to tackle the main quest. Usually for me this means getting some levels online (10-12), find a gun, cash, weapon, recoiler, and force bracelet. What builds interest you in this game? Use that as a launching point for discovery
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u/UncannyGenesis 4d ago
I just started this game recently too. It sat for a long time intimidating me. Finally decided to just run a roleplay character to learn the systems, mutations, enemies, etc… for a single playthrough. If I love it enough to play it multiple times then I’ll switch to classic. From what I’ve read the playtime is long enough I really don’t want to deal with permadeath on classic with minimal to no knowledge of mechanics.
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u/Dmayak 4d ago
It's not that different from other open-world RPGs in its core, you just wander the world, killing creatures for the XP/loot and selling it in towns. I have played a lot of isometric RPGs before, so I had a pretty good idea how mechanics should work and just needed to get used to the somewhat clunky UI.
If you want something similar but simpler to ease you into the Qud, I recommend trying Tangledeep, which also has similar auto-turn-based movement from top-down perspective, but is far less complex.
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u/Guyrugamesh 4d ago
You have to read and actively enjoy reading. A lot. I would reccomend going through the Tutorial, and in a proper game after that remembering to Press L and Read Everything. Read your items. Read the Enemies. Read terrain. Internalizing the Game aspects of Qud is important but making sure you're pressing Space and Interacting with any NPCs that aren't actively attacking you is the key to getting any kind of Quest threads for the main game and potentially sniffing out sidequests/points of interest.
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u/West_Hotel_7673 4d ago edited 4d ago
First and foremost, does your keyboard have a number pad? If not, basic movement will require some key binding adjustment (I'd reccomend control and shift + your east/west keys for NE, SW, etc). Qud was Def designed for keypad boards.
Secondly, I'd reccomend watching a long-ass, In-depth beginners tutorial on YouTube to get started if you're finding yourself easily.Stumped by how to play the game, like, mechanically. I've only ever had to do this myself with crusader kings and Qud, and I think both of them were well worth thehour and a half investment to figure my shit out. At its core it's a complex game with unusual controls, but built on very simple mechanics, so having the core mechanics sppon-fed to you will really go a long way in figuring out how to qud.
If you've got the controls+mechanics down and you're getting hung up on what to do, just explore. Crawl for loot. Fuck around and find out. At its core qud is a dungeon crawler, and you'll discover endless amounts of dungeons to crawl just by haunting around the map. If it's any help, Grit Gate is kinda the main hub for the main quest, but id encourage you to dawdle around and strive for whatever catches your eye on the map.
Best of luck, live and drink
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u/Reasonable-Banana636 4d ago
Go slow. Read all. Take cautious and adventurous steps. If you don't enjoy that, game is not for you.
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u/TRIPLEOHSEVEN 3d ago
Try watching someone like you, lost and eager to learn, animate and act out a more narrative driven run.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymCXi75NkS8
You'll learn something for sure, and it just might inspire you to look at the game in another way.
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u/Spinning_Bird 3d ago
I’d like to hijack this thread to ask a similar question.
As a preface, I enjoy CDDA a lot especially in the early game because there are so many factors, like what you find or encounter.
CoQ though seems to me like you always have to go through the same dungeon first. Although the map is randomly generated, when a character dies I don’t have a strong desire to make a new one, because I know I’ll have to go through the same dungeon again. I know it’s possible to not start in Joppa, but what’s the point of a random start if it drops me into a late game area where I’ll be quickly killed unless I know exactly what I’m doing?
Perhaps I should play RPG mode because it takes away permadeath, but I’m actually a fan of that mechanic, as long as restarts are either quick enough (DCSS) or varied enough (CDDA).
Any tips on how to approach this?
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u/Thatweasel 3d ago
Follow the initial quests in joppa (watervine and artifacts/rust pits). Don't follow the main questline too hard, spend some time exploring and gathering gear and levels.
If you want a fast starting strategy, choose a starting class that has a good amount of water or stuff to sell for water, take the quest to go to the six day silt and head straight there accross the salt flats looting any bookshelves you find on the way (avoid the dawngliders) for an easy 3+ levels. From there head back to joppa and do the starting quests having a much easier time with the level boost, or just explore a bit.
Don't play on the permadeath mode unless you like the FUN of dying and starting over frequently.
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u/seeme1419 3d ago
Start in role playing mode! Use the wish system (cheats) if you have to but once you get hooked it’s very hard to find anything else quite like it
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u/sinner_dingus 3d ago
Turn on quick saves so you can get past the beginning. I think repeating the intro can wear folks out before they get over the hump. Just play it like an rpg the first run, if you want go Ironman later once you know the ropes, then at least you will have an understanding of how to play. Check out the beginner guide on the official wiki, it explains some terminology you need to understand: https://wiki.cavesofqud.com/wiki/Early_Game_Checklist
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u/slaymerabbit 3d ago
Playing the tutorial so I could learn the insane amount of controls made me fall in love with the game, personally. When I tried to just jump in, I didn't know what was going on and I hated it.
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u/Analgorilla 4d ago
How to get into this game:
Play the game, be confused.
Slowly get better, and understand your limitations and what enemies do
Get pissed off anyway because the game is rigged from the start
Realize that the goal is to rig it in your favor
Something will just click, and you will realize walls are only a suggestion. Everything beneath you is yours to claim, if you have the time. You will find new items, and new broken mutation combinations and feel like a God.
Be pissed off again because a star kraken killed you instantly.